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Limping Along, Pineapple-Style

Take 1 (really it’s about Take 23). While it’s fun to look at, I think it looks like I stuck the quilt in a light socket or something. The petal/leaf things are like right on top of the pineapples and those tropical fruits need some breathing room. But I’m loathe to mess with those borders, so I try something different.

What if I organized the leaves by color: cool in the middle, warm on the outside? Still not liking it. This is a Truth-in-Advertising shot, showing how I load up the edges of my pin wall with related and unrelated junk. Can’t help myself.

Leaves off. Flip borders, so narrower light part (next to the green vine) is out and wider is next to the pineapples.

More borders cut and sewn on. I’m constructing the borders separately from the pineapple centers. I made the fatal error of hand-appliquing on the vine. I wanted to see what would happen if it were sewn down–it was really puckering before (it’s fine now). But does that mean I have to hand appliqué all those sprightly leaves onto the thing? (AAAAGH!)

Poking the leaves/petals/whatever back on. Trying to adjust for balance in size, number and color. I feel obsessive.

I think I’m pretty much there with the arrangement. By flipping the borders, it gave the flowers more room, so they are not crowding the pineapple blocks anymore. I’ll trim down the outer borders, but just that little bit gave the design some breathing room.

I started back to school on Monday. This is Corner A of my classroom, a windowless affair with a high distraction rating. The computer is behind that roll top desk, next to the TV with the dinosaur. Doesn’t every college classroom have a dinosaur?

This is Classroom Corner B, with split personality model. We are in the Respiratory Therapy classroom. As Rachel noted on Instagram: “At least she’s wearing a shirt.” Yep.

So when I got home, even before we’d had dinner, I’d eaten most of Tanzania. This lovely little box of chocolate is from Trader Joe’s and was a stocking stuffer gift from my husband. They only carry this at Christmas, so I feel lucky to have it just for such emergencies as this. Sao Tome may be gone after my next class. I’m thinking I might have to take it with me and put it in the car, to have it as I drive home through the LA bumper-to-bumper traffic. Yes, I might.

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20 thoughts on “Limping Along, Pineapple-Style”

Sure like the direction this quilt is taking. It definitely made a big, improved, difference to turn around the borders to move the vines and leaves away from the quilt center. More space is good. The quilt is so darned cheery that my cheeks hurt! Sorry for you to have to face traffic, though chocolate must help.

So, what is worse: vines and leaves that won’t cooperate or gridlock traffic? Chocolate is clearly one answer to this dilemma! And I think the layout improved significantly when you moves the vines to give the pineapples more room. It IS a happy little quilt!

Oh I love this!!! I love the bright colors and the “neutrals” that are bright and so printy! I think you’re wise though to make the borders a bit bigger- I think the flowers look better with more space. Really outstanding!

So excited to hear about your thought process on the quilt. Thank you for sharing. I can’t wait to see the finished product. I’m not a chocolate person (shocking, I know) but I doubt I’ve ever made it home from the grocery store without opening and “sampling” a bag of chips. I consider it payment for a chore well done!

“Doesn’t every classroom have a dinosaur?” If you ask the students, they would say, “Yes, the teacher.” I think I would title this post “Beauty and the Beast” for your quilt and your classroom, respectively.

I’m no quilter. But I’m not sure about the flowers/vines border. I worry that it overshadows the fantastic piecing of the blocks. As I said, I’m no quilter, and no artist either. Have you tried something kind of angular or zigzag in a smaller size? Are vines the only choice? Pineapples don’t grow on vines. Sigh. I know, I have no imagination! I’m with you on the chocolate and right now is a good time for me to figure out where I hid that stuff after Christmas.

After eating most of a container of pineapple spears yesterday after a trip to Trader Joe’s, I think I have pineapples on the brain. It struck me in looking at your borders tonight that the leaves/petals are reminiscent of the leaves of the pineapple fruit, looking down from the top. I love the shape the border is taking, the additional room is a wonderful answer, and, at least in my mind, you have pineapples on both the inside and the border of this quilt. I would love to have it and snuggle under it on a regular basis. It is beautiful, cheery, and special.

I love the quilt! Great colors, great blocks, and fantastic background prints in the border. But the idea of appliqueing all those pieces on makes me a bit twitchy–better you than me! 🙂 And the chocolate looks lovely too…yum!

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"The creative act is not an act of creation in the sense of the Old Testament. It does not create something out of nothing: it uncovers, selects, reshuffles, combines, synthesizes already existing facts, ideas, faculties, skills." ~Arthur Koestler